BackgroundChronic diseases are the leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. The primary health care setting is an effective avenue for the management and prevention of chronic diseases. Dietitians working in this setting assist with the management of modifiable risk factors of chronic diseases. However, health care professionals report challenges in providing care in this setting because of time and financial constraints. Information technology offers the potential to improve health care quality, safety, efficiency, and cost-efficiency, but there exists limited understanding of dietitians’ application of technology in this setting.ObjectiveThe objective of this study was to explore the perceptions of primary care dietitians about using information technology in their workplace.MethodsWe recruited 20 Australian primary care dietitians using purposive and snowball sampling for semistructured telephonic interviews. Interview questions aimed to gain an understanding of dietitians’ perceptions about sharing patient outcomes through a national database and the benefits, disadvantages, feasibility, and barriers of using information technology. Interviews were audiorecorded, transcribed verbatim, and thematically analyzed for emerging themes and subthemes. Finally, the technologies used by participants were collated by name and researched for their key attributes.ResultsThe following 4 distinct themes emerged from the data: information technology improving the efficiency of practice tasks, experiencing barriers to using information technology in practice, information technology enhancing outcomes through education and monitoring, and information technology for sharing information with others. Participants identified several advantages and disadvantages of using technology and expressed willingness to share patient outcomes using a Web-based database.ConclusionsThis study suggests that information technology is perceived to have benefits to dietitians and patients in primary health care. However, to achieve the optimal benefit, support is required to overcome barriers to integrate information technology into practice better. Further development of patient management systems and standardized Web-based data collection systems are needed to support better usage by dietitians.

Background: Primary healthcare dietitians have a vital role to play in the prevention and management of chronic disease. Working in primary care requires efficient and effective management of practice to ensure client and practitioner needs are met. The present study aimed to explore the way in which primary care dietitians in Australia view the constructs of efficiency and effectiveness within the context of their practice. Methods: The study used an exploratory qualitative design within a pragmatist framework. Individual semi-structured telephone interviews were conducted with Australian primary care dietitians. All interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim and analysed using an inductive thematic approach. Results: Twenty dietitians (17 females) working as private practitioners in primary care from three Australian states participated in the present study. Three themes emerged from the data. The first theme revealed that seeking efficiency and especially effectiveness were important to primary care dietitians and that there was a tension between the two. The second theme identified that efficiency and effectiveness are influenced by personal and structural factors. The final theme explored how dietitians are actively seeking ways to be more efficient and effective, including supportive networks, as well as the utilisation of technology. Conclusions: Achieving a balance between efficiency and effectiveness in primary care dietetics is challenging to practitioners, who may require further training and support to enhance productivity, time management and resource utilisation. Structured issues exist for the workface. Further studies are required to quantify these findings and to explore whether it is possible to optimise efficiency and effectiveness and achieve sustainability of the dietetic workforce in primary care. 259

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